-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Shrimp : It 's not just for surf-and-turf anymore .

In fact , thanks to research at Harvard University , the little crustaceans may be the next thing in plastic .

In experiments with the material in shrimp shells , called chitosan , and material from silk , known as fibroin , researchers at Harvard 's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering put the two together at a nano level . The result was a material they call `` shrilk '' -- a substance that 's both remarkably malleable and incredibly sturdy .

`` It actually feels like a huge beetle shell , or cuticle , '' says Don Ingber , the director of the Wyss Institute .

'' -LRB- It -RRB- can be very strong in terms of tensile strength . If you wet them they can actually get more flexible , '' he adds . `` We can get the range of different properties of plastics by changing how we fabricate these . ''

Though the word `` plastic '' applies to any moldable solid , it 's come to be associated with materials made out of petrochemicals . That 's both a blessing and a curse . Plastics are made in such quantity that they 're both inexpensive and versatile , yet most are n't biodegradable .

Indeed , the infamous Pacific trash vortex -- the large area of garbage suspended in the Pacific Ocean -- is primarily made up of plastic debris , which has killed fish and wildlife and wreaked havoc on local ecosystems .

Shrilk , on the other hand , is fully biodegradable , says Ingber -- a necessity if the product is to succeed .

`` In the middle of the Atlantic and Pacific there 's continents of plastic floating that fish are getting entangled in and dying . We ca n't keep going on like this , '' he says . `` I think many people are searching for replacements for plastics that would have the properties of plastic but be fully biodegradable . This may not solve all the problems but we feel like it 's a first step . ''

The current challenge for shrilk is to make it cost-effective . There 's plenty of raw material , says Ingber -- the seafood industry has so much shrimp shell discard `` that they have to pay to get it cleared away sometimes '' -- but there 's still a ways to go .

`` We need to work with real manufacturers who know what the design challenges are and the durability and the cost , '' says Ingber . `` The materials exist , the manufacturing processes exist , it really just requires it to be integrated into the pipeline . ''

The researchers say there is plenty of room for growth . Literally , in fact : the material in shrilk makes excellent fertilizer .

`` They are so rich in nutrients that you could put seeds in them , just in the broken down material , and a plant will grow , '' says Ingber .

Perhaps , a new part of the plastics industry will as well .

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Harvard researchers have developed plastic made of shrimp shells , silk

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So-called `` shrilk '' can be hard or flexible

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Substance is also biodegradable